[12/01/08 - 11:39 AM]NBC Sports and MTV Announce the Creation of Alli, the Alliance of Action SportsThe new umbrella brand will offer a schedule of seven national and international action sports tours and events.

[via press release from MTV]

NBC SPORTS AND MTV ANNOUNCE THE CREATION OF ALLI, THE ALLIANCE OF ACTION SPORTS

Alli to include seven national & international action sports properties, adding new partnerships with Maloof Money Cup, AMA Motocross Championship & King of Wake series to popular Dew Tour franchise

NBC Sports and MTV, a division of Viacom's MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), announced today the creation of Alli, the Alliance of Action Sports�. Alli is a global business that joins the former Action Sports Tour properties (AST) with Maloof Money Cup, AMA Motocross Championship and King of Wake series to create the most diverse and robust action-sports offering in the world. The new umbrella brand, which will continue to be co-owned by NBC Sports and MTV, will offer a schedule of seven national and international action sports tours and events, multimedia content and production, a digital hub and consumer-facing lifestyle brand.

Building on the successful foundation of AST, Alli will serve as the owner and operator of the Dew Tour and Winter Dew Tour, Free Flow Tour, and the China Invitational. In addition, Alli has formed partnerships with industry leaders and premier properties: Maloof Money Cup, the AMA Motocross Championships, and the King of Wake series. Alli partners will continue to manage their respective events with the added benefit of television programming on NBC Sports and MTV, global media content distribution, sponsorship sales, and marketing and promotion across all platforms. A soon-to-be-launched digital hub will also serve as the online destination for all Alli properties and a leading source of all action sports content and news.

This announcement comes six months after the groundbreaking joint venture between NBC and MTV around the AST and its related businesses. This wide-ranging, strategic partnership expanded the business across NBC and MTV's multiple screens, including action sports competition and youth-focused lifestyle programming, cross-promotion, multi-platform content and distribution, consumer products licensing and an enhanced digital offering. Moving forward under the Alli brand, the partnership will include over 80 hours of original programming offered annually across NBC, USA Network, MTV and MTV2

"Alli's mission is to facilitate the momentous growth of action sports by showcasing both the competition and lifestyle aspect of these sports. We believe these are the sports of a new generation and Alli will bring together the best properties, athletes, and brands globally for the fans of action sports," says Wade Martin, President of Alli, the Alliance of Action Sports.

"When NBC Sports launched the Dew Tour we knew there would be an opportunity to expand into other action sports. We are excited to bring the best programming across the entire action sports genre on multiple media distribution platforms to our audience," says Kevin Monaghan, Senior Vice President, Business Development, NBC Sports & Olympics.

Added Jeff Yapp, Executive Vice President of Program Enterprises for MTV Networks Music & Logo Group, "This is a major step in building the business we imagined when we first partnered with NBC Sports. Building our online platform, creating a lifestyle brand, and expanding original content will positively impact the network of partners, athletes, fans and the action sports industry as a whole, which is everything that the alliance represents".

An overview of the Alli properties is as follows

Maloof Money Cup

Held for the first time in 2008, the Maloof Money Cup, owned and operated by the Maloof family, has quickly become the premier skateboarding event within the community and attracts every top athlete. Including three professional competitions � Men's and Women's Pro Street, and Men's Pro Vert � and the Amateur Championships, it boasts the largest single event purse in skateboarding with over $450,000 in prize money.

AMA Motocross Championship

AMA Motocross Championship is the top outdoor series in motocross and draws elite rider talent from all around the world. The MX Sports-organized series, which began in 1972, spans 12 races across the U.S., and at the end of each year, the AMA National Motocross Championship titles are awarded based on the riders' performances over the entire series.

King of Wake

As the elite pro wakeboarding circuit, the King of Wake series has attracted the sport's top riders from throughout the globe. With more than $300,000 in prize money over the eight-event season, riders compete over the course of the year to be named the "King of Wake" � an award based on points accumulated at each stop of the series. Events include Wake Games, Pro Wakeboard Tour (5 events), WWA National Championships, and WWA World Championships. The King of Wake is organized by World Sports & Marketing � the leading wake event producers since 1988.

Dew Tour

The Dew Tour, the premier season-long series in action sports, consists of five major, multi-sport events, featuring skateboarding (park and vert), BMX (park, vert, and dirt), and FMX. Dew Tour is the most watched and attended action sports property in the world with over 250k spectators, 41 million total viewers and reaches over 100 countries worldwide. The events extend across the country, have a cumulative points system, and a $3.5 million competitive purse. The Dew Tour has been the cornerstone property of AST over the last four years, and its success has now enabled the formation of Alli, the Alliance of Action Sports. It crowns year-end champions including past Dew Cup winners Ryan Sheckler, Shaun White, Bucky Lasek, Jamie Bestwick, and Nate Adams.

Winter Dew Tour

The Winter Dew Tour is launching in December of '08, and will expand Alli's footprint into the winter action sports. It consists of three major, multi-sport events spanning across the country, with a cumulative points system, and a $1.5 million competitive purse. The tour will feature 29 hours of original television programming. Each event features men and women's snowboard (superpipe and slopestyle), and men's freeskiing (superpipe and slopestyle). Top athletes, Shaun White, Hannah Teter, Travis Rice, Simon Dumont, and Danny Kass, are already planning to compete.

Free Flow Tour

The Free Flow Tour, the Dew Tour's official amateur series, provides amateur athletes the opportunity to earn a chance to compete against the pros in the Dew Tour. The Free Flow Tour consists of 50 events across 26 cities in the U.S., featuring skateboarding and BMX. The winners of the Free Flow Tour Finals compete against the pros at the Dew Tour's PlayStation Pro in Orlando, Fla. Past Free Flow Tour winners include Chaz Ortiz (2007 Dew Cup Winner, Skate Park) and Mike Spinner (2008 Dew Tour Second Place, BMX Park).

China Invitational

The China Invitational is Alli's first international expansion initiative. The inaugural China Invitational was held in April 2008 in Beijing, China and featured the top skateboarders competing in vert and park disciplines before a capacity crowd.

Alli, the Alliance of Action Sports

Alli, the Alliance of Action Sports is global business that encompasses national and international action sports tours and events, multimedia production, and a consumer facing lifestyle brand. The Alliance includes: The Dew Tour (debuted in 2005), Winter Dew Tour (debuting in 2008), Alli China Invitational (debuted in 2008), Maloof Money Cup, AMA Motocross, The King of Wake, and the Free Flow Tour (debuted in 2005); Alli Productions, which creates original content, produces and presents content with partners, and distributes Alli content through a variety of channels. Alli is owned by NBC Sports and MTV Networks and represents a network of athletes, fans, brands and properties. Its mission is to facilitate the momentous growth of action sports, through competition and lifestyle, for a new generation of fans and athletes. The Alli properties are home to more than 700,000 spectators each year, over 150 hours of original programming, and are broadcast in 100 countries and 280 million homes worldwide.

NBC Universal

NBC Universal is one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates the No. 1 television network, the fastest-growing Spanish-language network, a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80%-owned by General Electric, with 20% controlled by Vivendi Universal.

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